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Great for a first digital camera or for the technology shy

If your after a really technicaly detailed review this isn't for you as i dont know about these things. What i do know is i'm not great with technology but i can use this camera and its functions and i love it. When shopping for this camera i wanted something that looked nice, was small enough to fit in my handbag or going out bag and that had a decent amount of mega pixels so the photos would be of a decent quality. This camera delivers all this and more. It has a really nice sized viewing screen almost the size of the camera so you can get a good look at what your trying to take a photo off and it has a great zoom so if things are far away you can still get a good picture. Its very easy to hook up to the computer and download the photos (if i can do it anyone can). I have had this camera for almost 3 years and the only downside is the battery is going now and needs alot of charging which isn't really a fault of the camera and we have a spare anyway so not really a problem. It didn't come with a protective case either so we had to buy one to protect the screen but it wasn't expensive. So i would defo reccomend as a first digital camera.

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Great camera: highly recommended

{~~~Introduction~~~}

I was looking to buy my first digital camera and I came across this. I ended up going for it after quite a bit of deliberation as there were newer and better models with image-stabilisation and higher resolution. I ended up going for this due to its affordable price, looks and good reviews.

{~~~Packaging~~~}

I was quite excited about the camera so didn't take the packaging into account too much. However, the box is a light-blue colour with nice illustrations and it lists the features in big and bold writing. The camera is nicely positioned in the centre of the inner holder with all of the books and manuals, etc.

There is an AV cable included to connect the camera to the TV, and a cable to connect to the PC via USB is also supplied. Furthermore, a hand strap is supplied. A case must be purchased separately as none is supplied.

{~~~Design~~~}

The camera itself it very stylish with a blend of black and silver. The large 3" screen and reflective sides add to the elegance and pleasantness of this camera's image. The controls on the back are fairly small as well adding to the ultra-compact look.

{~~~Features~~~}

This camera isn't packed full of features, but is more than adequate for most people.

This ultra-compact features Canon's nifty DIGIC III imaging processor, which will provides super-fast responses and advanced noise reduction, as well as automatic face detection which will help to bring faces into sharper focus. The face detection feature works really well from my experience.

You have the option of choosing the start-up and switch-off image. You can also control he noises the camera makes, such as the shutter noise.

There are four automatic modes which include auto, manual, digital macro, colour accent; there are also various shooting modes which you should change to correspond with your location. These include Portrait, Night, Snapshot, Kids and Pets, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks and Indoor, Aquarium and Underwater. Te latter two features are for use underwater with the compatible waterproof case.

Examples of white balance options to choose from include auto, daylight, cloudy, tungsten, florescent, florescent H and custom, as well as custom ISO settings ranging from 80 to 1600. Shooting modes include single shot, continuous, and self timer which can be set at 10 seconds, two seconds or a custom time. The timer works great and comes in handy when you want to take a whole group photo without having to pinch someone away. The most fascinating feature for me is the macro mode which allows you to photograph ar 3cm, this function works amazingly well and I have managed to capture many amazing photographs with this mode, including a butterfly.

You can also remove red eyes on the camera itself. The process is very simple and fairly effective. The eyes can look distorted if viewed on a larger computer screen. However, this is to be expected.

At the top of the camera, next to the shutter button, there is a switch with 3 positions: video, auto and manual. The shutter button itself is enveloped within the zoom rotary collar. The zoom collar can cause problems if you are photographing single-handedly. However, it is possible, just a bit finicky.

I will update this with more information soon. The review is unfinished!

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Generally a very stylish compact camera capable of taking pictures in every situation.

This is the best compact camera I have ever owned. With 7.1 mega pixels it takes great pictures and the colour is very accurate. The very large 3 inch LCD screen is makes reviewing pictures and navigating the menu very easy. Being slim and compact, it makes it perfect for travelling and can carries in your top pocket or handbag. The 3 times optical zoom is plenty and the macro mode takes great close-ups of flowers and really shows there true colours. I like to take pictures of flowers in the garden, friends at social gatherings, videos of the cat doing crazy things, items to sell on eBay, ideas when out shopping, places I visit, and the Canon Ixus75 does all these things and more. If you want to get clever you can adjust the colours, to sepia, B&W, Inverted and even separate the colours so that only red will show in colour and everything else will be in greyscale for instance. You can also change the shooting mode to adjust the white balance, and exposure but for general photos I leave it on automatic to ensure perfect shots each time. I am really happy with my Canon and I would highly recommend the Ixus75 to all my friends.

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Simple and streamlined

I love this camera. I have had it for about 18 months, I paid around £220 for it and it has been worth every penny. I think that the best feature of this camera is the large screen on the back. For people like me who take ages to print off photographs its the best way to show them to other people which just isn't practical with a smaller screen. It is also very slim which is great for shoving in your pocket while out and about. In my case it was shoved in my back pocket during a month long adventure holiday in Africa and did me proud. It has even more features on it than I use for the more studious photographer than myself. The only drawbacks I think are that it is a little behind in terms of the number of megapixels and the optical zoom. However considering the price is a little lower it is definitely worth the money for ameteurs.

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An excellent camera that would suit most people.

After owning this camera for 1 year, I'm left wondering whether I originally purchased a delicate piece of electronic equipment. The IXUS 75 is perhaps one of the most durable and well-built cameras I have ever had the fortune to use. It has survived being dropped, trodden on, dropped down the toilet, and having things spilt on it, and it served me faithfully until it was stolen; clearly somebody else knew how good it was.

The picture quality was also fantastic; in daylight it took even and well balanced shots, and coped well with mixed-light conditions. The camera really excelled at night, where a complete absence of graininess, and non-overbearing flash gave excellent quality pictures. The battery life was also good, lasting several hundred shots.

It's difficult to find an area in which this camera struggled, but one obvious contender is cold conditions. When skiing in the Alps (temperatures of around -15), the lens kept sticking and there were clearly issues with the auto-focussing. However, can you really expect a camera to work at -15C?

The IXUS 75 is undoubtedly an excellent camera, taking good quality pictures both day and night. Unless you spend most of your time in Arctic conditions, the IXUS 75 would be an excellent choice.

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Fab compact digital camera

My husband is a bit of a photography bore, and has a top of the range Digital monster of a camera that he adores. I wanted something smaller and easy to use that was alway's accessible for taking quick pictures of family/friends etc - so after spending a lifetime questioning the saleman in Jessops my other half declared that this camera would suit me, and it does. Me and technology don't usually get on, but even I find using the functions on this camera easy to understand and implement, and downloading of the shots to your PC is a breeze.It's easy to review and edit the shots you have taken as the preview/display screen is a good size and its proven to be pretty hardwearing over the 2 years I've owned it, as its usually shoved in pockets or handbags, and it's never taken any damage.The quality of the shots and videos it can take are really good - even the hubby was impressed, and the dual function means it replaces the need to take both a camera and camcorder to certain events. We didnt bother taking our digital camcorder on our last holiday, just opted to take this instead.

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easy to use, good battery life, easy softwear. A really good camera

I have just read the review on this camera and it just says it all, so I thought I would just review it as a user. This camera is so easy to use and fits into your pocket or handbag so it is always availible. I am a grandmother with active youngsters, it is in constant use and as it is aim and shoot I never miss a thing. The children use it as well the youngest is 5 and he has taken some lovely photos- and some rubbish ones as well but the delete is easy so no problems there- they also love the sound effects that accompany scrolling thru.This is also a very robust camera as you can imagine it gets rough treatment -even an overnight stay in the fridge! not recommended , but it was fine. I also got a higher memory card and have had up 400 photos stored at one time the battery life is seemingly endless and as it comes with its own charger you don't have to worry about replacements a great boon when you are on holiday.All in all this is a little gem

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An all round average Canon camera.

I borrowed this camera from a family member and gave it a thorough test over a 4 week period. The IXUS 75 is a 7-megapixel high-spec ultra-compact, featuring an f/2.8 - 4.9 3x zoom lens with a focal length range of 35-105mm, a large 3-in LCD monitor and face detection focusing. With dimensions of 91.6 x 56.8 x 19.6mm and weighing only 130g, this really is an ultra-compact model that will slip nicely into a jacket pocket.

BuildIn terms of construction and design this is a nice camera to look at but I didn't really find it that comfortable to hold. The body comprises a sleek metal and plastic body that is a bit slippery and lacks grip. Another negative factor are the rather fiddly controls. The zoom control situated around the shutter button is especially tricky to use. In fact most of the controls are rather small and cumbersome. On the plus side I did like the three-inch LCD monitor which produced crystal clear images and was very bright with superb contrast and colour reproduction even in sunny conditions. As is the current trend the IXUS 75 has no optical viewfinder.

Main FeaturesAs you might expect from a camera in the Canon Ixus range, the features are quite extensive. There is a three-position slider switch to select between video mode, scene mode and program auto on the main panel. There are 10 scene programs in scene mode. The video mode offers a satisfactory maximum 640 x 480 resolution at 30fps, with mono audio. As with many such cameras you cannot use the zoom whilst filming. The video format is Motion JPEG and if using maximum quality you should squeeze 8 minutes out of a 1GB card. I do find video capacity on such camera to be a bit of a gimmick and really not necessary.

BatteriesPower is supplied by a lithium ion battery which comes in the box along with the charger. According to the manufacturers you should be able to take around 210 shots in between charges. I found this estimation to be about right.

Memory CardThe camera come supplied with a 32mb SD card. I was able to take about 20 shots before the card was full. The camera is also compatible with SDHC cards.

PerformanceOverall the camera performs well. It only takes a second to switch on and the AF system is one of the fastest I've ever used. I managed to get some really good shots in low light situations largely due to the AF assist light. However image quality does start to deteriorate noticeably when you push up the ISO settings. Anything above ISO 400 and you will begin to see image noise. At the top setting of ISO 1600 noise is a major problem and I really wouldn't recommend taking a photo at this setting. I also found the AiAF multi-point focusing system a bit suspect, and at times I found the lens to automatically focus on the wrong object. As such I recommend using the centre-spot focusing. The face detection system worked quite well as long as you focus on faces looking straight towards the camera in well lit conditions.

ConclusionI found the photographs produced with this camera to be satisfactory rather than outstanding. Although the camera produces excellent colour saturation, images do lack sharpness of detail when blown up. For most people this won't matter and the camera should be good enough for taking your average set of holiday snaps but I always feel that the consumer should expect more from a camera that is clearly marketed as something above the average.

Originally selling for £190 you can now find this camera for around £130. It presently sells at Currys for £129.99.